Extra Flamey
by Mike McD
Summary: A very quick Halloween fic. Imagine that certain clothes from the future end up in Ethan’s shop.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Extra Flamey

Author: Mike McD

Summary: A very quick Halloween fic. Imagine that certain clothes from the future end up in Ethan's shop.

Distribution: Anywhere, just let me know.

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor do I own any other characters. This is a work of fiction written for fun and enjoyment.

-----

Xander was a very unhappy man.

He'd lost a bet to Buffy and Willow earlier that day and now he was in Ethan's Costume Shop paying up.

"I'm never gonna find anything that will fit." He whined to Buffy as he rummaged around for his costume.

"Well, you're not gonna wear anything of mine, even if it did fit." Buffy replied.

'Great. Just damn great!' Xander grumbled to himself. 'I loose one lousy bet and now Buffy and Willow are making me dress as a woman for Halloween.'

Willow came up to him with some clothes.

"Here, I think these will fit." She told him, holding up a blouse to his chest to gauge if it would fit. Both it and the matching skirt would fit, so Willow bought them for Xander. Xander snatched the blouse and skirt from Willow and checked it out.

"Wonderful. Not only are you guys going to make me dress as a girl, you're making me wear second hand girls clothes!"

"Really? How can you tell they're second hand?" Buffy asked.

"It's got the previous owners name on the tag at the back, see?" He showed the two girls.

Both Buffy and Willow giggled.

"Does this mean that we get to call you Tara Maclay tonight?"


	2. Around the Curves

Title: Around the Curves

Author: Mike McD

Summary: Another very quick Halloween fic linked to 'Extra Flamey'. Imagine that certain clothes from the future end up in Ethan's shop.

Distribution: Anywhere, just let me know.

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor do I own any other characters. This is a work of fiction written for fun and enjoyment.

-----

Inwardly Willow raged at Buffy as she looked at herself in the mirror. Buffy had hidden her ghost costume and had gotten her this instead.

Mind you, wearing leather did feel kinda sexy in a naughty way...

----

The wave of magic swept over Sunnydale, causing mass confusion and mayhem in the streets.

Standing on a porch, she steadied herself as her head slowly stopped spinning. Looking around, she saw the streets that were both familiar and unfamiliar.

The last thing she remembered was fighting the First's army.

"This shit is so not five by five."


	3. In the Land of the Blind

Title: In the Land of the Blind

Author: Mike McD

Summary: Another very quick Halloween fic linked to 'Extra Flamey' and 'Around the Curves'. Imagine that certain clothes from the future end up in Ethan's shop.

Distribution: Anywhere, just let me know.

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor do I own any other characters. This is a work of fiction written for fun and enjoyment.

-----

It was only fair, Buffy reasoned. After all, she was making Willow wear leather pants and Xander was dressing up as a woman.

She finished putting her hair up and looked herself in the mirror.

"What do you think Willow?" Buffy asked as she adjusted her bow tie just so.

"I like what you've done with the five o'clock shadow." Willow told her. Buffy had spent the afternoon experimenting with various makeup pens to come up with a reasonable facsimile of beard stubble.

"But do I look like a tough guy? I don't think I look like a tough guy." Buffy thought she still looked too girly.

Willow smiled at Buffy's doubts and wandered over to give her something she had picked up from Ethan's.

"Here, wear this. It'll help with the tough guy look."

"You sure? I mean, will it go with the tux?"

"Positive."

With a shrug, Buffy put on the eye patch.

The eye patch whose owner had looked down at the crater that had once been Sunnydale.


	4. Jack Lives Here

Title: Jack Lives Here

Author: Mike McD

Summary: A very quick Halloween fic. Imagine that certain clothes from the future end up in Ethan's shop. Follow on from 'Extra Flamey', 'Around the Curves', and 'In the Land of the Blind'.

Distribution: Anywhere, just let me know.

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor do I own any other characters. This is a work of fiction written for fun and enjoyment.

-----

If one was to look in the basement of Xander's place just after Halloween, you would have found an unsurprising sight.

Sitting in the semi darkness, Buffy, Willow, and Xander were blind stinking drunk. The three of them had killed a six pack of beer between them an hour earlier and were nearly half way through a bottle of Jack Daniels 'borrowed' from Xander's parents.

Willow took a long gulp from the bottle before passing it to Buffy. Buffy looked at the bottle for a moment. She shuddered as Xander's memories came cutting through the alcoholic haze of her mind and she grabbed the bottle. The liquid burned on its way down and the memories retreated as the alcoholic haze advanced.

Buffy handed the bottle to Xander, careful not to make eye contact with him.

Those haunted, brown eyes.

She, and the other two Scoobies, were happy that there were no mirrors in the basement.

It would be a long time before any of them could look themselves in the mirror.

Willow finally broke the silence.

"This ain't helping." She slurred, indicating to the bottle. Buffy grabbed the bottle off Xander and took another hit before handing it to Willow.

"What would?" Buffy asked.

"Dunno. Talking?" ventured Willow in between swallows.

"Ok." Xander started, then took the bottle from Willow for a double hit of alcohol. "Let's talk."

The three of them sat in silence.

After a long, awkward silence only punctuated by the sound of the bottle being passed around, Buffy nodded.

"Yep. This talking. Big help."

Talking would come later. For now they just drank to dull the pain.

"Ugliest bridesmaid dresses on Earth." Xander muttered to nobody in particular.

Buffy and Willow nodded in agreement.

Yet one more memory to try to drown.


	5. A Whisper of You

Title: A Whisper of You

Author: Mike McD

Summary: A very quick Halloween fic. Imagine that certain clothes from the future end up in Ethan's shop. Last story in the follow on from 'Extra Flamey', 'Around the Curves', 'In the Land of the Blind', and 'Jack Lives Here'.

Distribution: Anywhere, just let me know.

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor do I own any other characters. This is a work of fiction written for fun and enjoyment.

-----

The school yard was bright and bustling with life as Buffy watched it all from the balcony.

Halloween was little more than half forgotten memories buried under the afterglow of Christmas for most.

But not her or her friends.

Buffy's Slayer sharp eyesight was hardly needed to pick out Willow and Xander as they walked hand in hand in the sunlight. The smiles of her friends made the day seem just that much brighter.

There had been a time after Halloween that the three of them had despaired of ever knowing smiles and happiness as the dark clouds of the future weighed heavily on their minds.

/_No fate but what you make._/

Buffy nodded imperceptibly at the words. Six simple words from a big name Hollywood blockbuster had saved them from their memories.

Rather than drown in the darkness of their memories, they used them to forge new paths. Paths away from the darkness and towards a hopefully brighter future.

Xander must have said something to Willow because she playfully swatted Xander's arm and Xander in turn hammed it up; grabbing his arm as if Willow's blow had smashed it with great force. His mock pain was forgotten as Willow stood on her tippy toes and kissed him. The smile this brought out in Xander was the brightest of all.

/I told you that you two would be good together./ Buffy thought.

/_Yeah, yeah, I know you did._/ Came the reply.

Willow and Xander had found happiness together and Buffy had finally found peace and contentment.

They worried about Buffy sometimes. Giles and the others would notice that Buffy would retreat into her own little world every now and then. They worried about her spending hours on end alone.

/_You'll never be alone, Buff. I'll always be with you._/

In her minds eye Buffy could see the one eyed Scooby reach out and touch her heart.

/Always have and always will./ She acknowledged the presence of the future Xander's mind that now shared her own. She heard him smirk.

/_Especially in the shower._/

Buffy laughed out loud and started her way down the stairs to join her friends.


	6. You Am I

Title: You am I

Author: Mike McD

Rating: G

Summary: A very quick Halloween fic. Imagine that certain clothes from the future end up in Ethan's shop. Next story in the follow on from 'Extra Flamey', 'Around the Curves', 'In the Land of the Blind', 'Jack Lives Here', and 'A Whisper of You.

Distribution: Anywhere, just let me know.

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor do I own any other characters. This is a work of fiction written for fun and enjoyment.

/Xander the Elder thoughts/  
/Buffy thoughts/

-----

/One down, one to go./

Standing from her vantage point, Buffy watched Faith walk with Xander and Willow through the park.

Willow and Xander, the memories of the suffering of their Halloween other selves still raw, had managed to persuade Buffy and Giles to come on their summer road trip.

A road trip to save Faith and Tara from the horrors of their lives.

Faith was number one on the list. They were too late to save Faith's Watcher but they managed to dust Kakistos.

That had been the easy bit. Convincing Faith of their crazy story had taken the better part of two days. But the tag team of Willow with her Faith memories and Xander with Tara's gentle compassion ended up breaking through the wall that Faith had erected to protect herself from the dark world she had found herself in.

/She's seen too much for, what do you call them/

/A Potential./

/Right. She's pretty messed up, isn't she/

/From what I was able to pick up over the years, Faith's life pretty much sucked the big one. But she's got friends now. Friends can make all the difference in the world./

Faith, flanked either side by Willow and Xander, was talking animatedly about god knows what as the trio headed to the hotdog stand.

/Funny how Xander didn't seem all that keen to meet Faith at the start./

/You gotta remember that the only knowledge of Faith that young Junior over there has is Tara's, and Faith and Tara didn't start off all that good./

Buffy smirked at the Elder Xander that was sharing her mind refer to his younger self as 'Junior'.

/Well, they seem to be getting along like a couple of houses on fire./

/If they keep it up at this rate, they'll be having a swinging threesome before mid-terms./

"Xander!" Buffy yelled out loud before remembering she was physically alone.

Although there was an old lady who was giving Buffy a look as she put as much space as possible between her and the blonde Slayer.

Buffy heard Xander the Elder laughing.

/Not funny./

/I know./ Buffy sensed that Xander became serious.

/You're worried, aren't you? About us merging./

In the beginning there was a clear difference between her mind and the elder Xander's mind. But little by little the line began to blur. They started sharing dreams, especially erotic dreams, which disturbed the hell out of both of them. Sometimes when talking to their friends Buffy and Xander would swap constantly without realising it until afterwards. Their memories began to blend in together such that neither of them was quite sure whose memories they were.

/Worried? Yes. A little frightened? Definitely. The whole idea of you no longer being completely you and me not being completely me? Wiggy./

/If we could find a way to stop it, would you want to/

/Would you/

They both knew the answer, which should have terrified the both of them.

But it didn't.

/Just as long as I don't get hair on my chest or start growing man bits./

/Hey! I'm stuck in the body of a woman/

/Like that's any great hardship./

/Two words, Buffy. Period. Pain./

/Two words, Xander. Lesbian. Fantasies./

/Hey! Some of those were in here long before I was./

Buffy majorly blushed.

/You're not going to tell Willow, are you/

/Not yet. I'll save that for the right time. Preferably when she's a little drunk and Junior isn't around to dick things up./

/You wouldn't dare/

A smirk was the only response.

With a mental grump, Buffy started towards Willow, Faith, and Xander.

/Buff, since we're going down the whole 'You am I' path, can I ask for a favour/

/What's the favour/

/Can we date Tara/


	7. Dance With Me

In the months and years following that fateful Halloween, the question of why it affected Buffy so differently than from the others was never answered. There were many theories but no concrete answer. 

In the end they just accepted the fact that it was different for Buffy.

They had saved Tara from her family and she had become part of the new Scooby Gang, as did Faith.

The group dynamics, already altered by the Halloween incident, changed even further.

The love triangle that had developed between Faith, Willow, and Xander the younger, as dramatic and angst filled as it was, paled into insignificance compared to what happened to Buffy and Xander the elder.

The process of the merging of their minds had continued. The line between Buffy and Xander the elder blurred. They began to loose their individually.

Their subconscious rebelled in a desperate attempt at individual survival. The two minds see-sawed in a schizophrenic battle of dominance and survival.

One moment it was Xander who was driving the Buffy bus, then the next it was Buffy.

As sometimes it was clear that there was no one behind the wheel.

The two minds battle to retain their individual sense of self drove them to the edge of insanity and finally beyond.

And through it all, Tara stood by them, patient, loving, yet unsure of exactly where she fit into the slayer's life as the two minds that shared her body tore at each other.

In the end, the two minds collapsed and out of the ashes came a new mind.

A new Buffy.

"I think they've made up."

Buffy snapped out of her introspective moment at the sound of Tara's voice.

"Huh? Who?"

"Xander and Willow and Faith. Look." Tara pointed out onto the dance floor. Willow was sandwiched between Xander and Faith as the trio slow danced together.

"They are so gonna have sex tonight." Buffy observed. Tara gave her a sideways glance. Xander the elder may be gone but his influence lived on.

"Buffy, it's Prom night. Everybody is going to have it."

Buffy raised an eyebrow at the wicca.

"Everybody?"

"M...mm...maybe n...nnn...not..." Tara stuttered, a sure sign of the awkwardness of the moment. Tara hadn't spoken to Buffy about her feelings. They were close friends, just how close was the question that never got answered.

Buffy gave Tara a look that made the wicca weak at the knees.

"Dance with me."

As Buffy and Tara slow danced at the prom, somewhere a one eyed carpenter cheered.


End file.
